Chapter 5
Adriano Pov~
"Step away before I blow your fucking brains out." My voice was low and dangerous as I stared into the eyes of the woman who had caused years of pain in Giovanni's life.
Clara.
She looked over at me with a smug smile. "I thought you never hurt women." Her tone was mocking. "Mafia oath."
I stared her down without blinking. "You're an exception."
She rolled her eyes before casually walking over and standing beside Andros. The bastard looked far too pleased with himself. Our guns remained trained on him and his guards as he looked between us.
"I believe you all know Clara."
Giovanni said nothing. But I could feel the rage radiating off him. He had spent years believing he would never see her again. His former fiancée. The woman who had taken his heart and disappeared with it.
Andros smiled. "Now, if you don't mind, I would like for you all to leave immediately."
His eyes shifted between us. "Unless you want Clara over here to get hurt."
A threat. Against me.
The Capo.
I couldn't help but laugh. A deep, humorless laugh. This motherfucker really thought he had the upper hand. "Grab them. Both of them." The second the words left my mouth, everything moved.
I fired toward the three guards on my left while Giovanni took down the two on his side. My men rushed forward, grabbing Andros and Clara before dragging them out of the club. The entire thing was over within seconds.
I looked over at Giovanni. His face was unreadable. Too calm. That was what worried me. He was holding everything inside. The anger, the pain, the betrayal. I placed a hand on his shoulder.
He turned and gave me a cold look before walking away.
I let out a slow breath, forcing myself to remain calm. Giovanni wasn't just my friend. He was my brother. And whatever happened to him happened to all of us. His rage was our rage. His pain was our pain. Seeing Clara again had ripped open wounds he had buried for fifteen years.
And there was only one person who had ever been able to bring him back from that darkness.
Leena.
But she wasn't here. And I already knew what we were about to see. The Giovanni we hadn't seen in fifteen years. The one buried beneath loyalty, love, and family. The one who was capable of becoming something dangerous.
But right now, I needed answers. My fingers twitched with anticipation. Because all I wanted was to wrap my hands around Andros's throat and make him explain exactly what the fuck he was thinking.
I smirked as we walked outside. My men shoved Andros and Clara into the second SUV while Giovanni and I climbed back into the first.
The door closed behind us. Silence filled the vehicle.
Then Giovanni finally spoke. "Where to, boss?" His voice was distant and cold.
I looked straight ahead.
"Warehouse."
~***~
A.J. POV~
We walked up to the massive, run-down brick building. A guard stood by the entrance, staring straight ahead. The moment he saw me, he immediately opened the door for my men and me.
I gave him a curt nod and buttoned my suit jacket.
The inside was dimly lit, with only a few lights illuminating the far corners of the room. We turned sharply left and headed toward the staircase.
Four flights down.
"I don't fucking remember there being this many stairs," Leo grumbled as we finally reached the bottom.
I rolled my eyes.
Raf shoved him with his shoulder. "Fucking pussy," he muttered. Leo shot him an offended look but kept walking. I grabbed the silver doorknob and twisted it open, revealing another narrow hallway.
We followed it until it opened into a massive underground arena.
The roar of the crowd hit us instantly.
Thousands of voices echoed throughout the room. Some cheered, booed. Others shouted every profanity imaginable. In the center stood the massive steel cage.
Two fighters were already inside.
I smirked as one of my favorite fighters, the same one I'd admired since I was a kid, drove his opponent into the mat with a brutal combination of punches.
"Come on," Marcio said, pulling my attention away from the fight. "Let's deal with the manager first."
I nodded. As we made our way through the crowd, people immediately noticed us. Some nodded respectfully. Others quickly stepped out of our way. None of them dared look me in the eye.
Exactly how it should be.
We climbed the stairs leading to the VIP section. I already knew where we'd find the manager. The bastard who thought he could put his hands on a woman without her consent.
Marcio was angrier about this than any of us. He'd always had a zero-tolerance policy for men like that.
Growing up, our fathers drilled one lesson into us over and over again. Respect women.
A woman could calm the monster inside a man... Or awaken it. Sometimes both.
Before the manager even realized we were there, Marcio grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "W-What are you doing here?" He looked directly at Marcio.
"I'm here to make sure you learned your lesson." Marcio's voice was slow. Menacing.
I stepped beside him and slid one hand into my pocket. "We're taking a little trip to the warehouse."
A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth I motioned for one of the guards working security nearby.
He hurried over immediately. "Boss."
I leaned in slightly. "Take Mr. DelGatto to the warehouse." My voice remained low enough that no one else could hear. "We have a cellar waiting with his name on it."
The guard nodded. "Take two more men with you. If he tries anything..."
I looked over at Mr. DelGatto. "...don't hesitate."
"Yes, Boss."
Within seconds, the guard called over two others.
They grabbed Mr. DelGatto and dragged him out of the room while he struggled and cursed the entire way.
I watched until he disappeared down the hallway.
"Well..." Damien cracked his neck. "Now that that's taken care of..." A grin spread across his face. "I'm fucking ready to fight."
I could practically see the beast inside him clawing to get out. I laughed and threw an arm around his shoulders as we headed back toward the arena.
"Come on, little brother." I smirked. "Let's make your dream come true."
About twenty minutes later, we settled onto one of the plush leather couches overlooking the cage from behind the reinforced glass.
His opponent entered a few seconds later. He was someone new.
The man stood at least five inches taller than Damien and looked to be in his mid-thirties. Thick, muscular, and covered in old scars.
I wasn't worried. I knew Damien could take him without breaking a sweat.
"Someone's about to die," Marcio murmured beside me.
"And it ain't Damien," Raf added.
Damien shrugged off his suit jacket and tossed it into the corner of the cage. He was fighting in his dress pants, white dress shirt, and Italian dress shoes.
He calmly rolled up his sleeves. During training, Pops and Uncle Matteo often made us spar in suits. They said if we were ever attacked during business, we'd have to fight in whatever we were wearing.
Damien had trained for this his entire life.
The referee blew the whistle and quickly backed away. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees as my eyes locked onto the fight.
Damien didn't move. He simply waited.
Patiently.
The second his opponent lunged, Damien sidestepped with ease and drove a brutal punch straight into the man's jaw. A grin spread across my face. He was toying with him.
Every punch, kick and dodge was calculated. The crowd roared with every successful hit Damien landed.
"Ah... that's gotta hurt." Leo winced as Damien's opponent landed a solid punch directly into Damien's eye. His head snapped to the side.
He stumbled back a step before quickly regaining his balance. Blood trickled from the cut beneath his eye.
Damien only smiled. He charged forward, sweeping the man's leg with a vicious kick behind the knee. The man dropped to one knee. Damien didn't hesitate.
He shoved him onto his back and rained punch after punch into his face.
I stood instinctively.
Then everything changed. The man managed to throw Damien off and rolled on top of him. Now Damien was the one pinned beneath him.
Fists crashed into Damien's face over and over again. I barely noticed the others standing beside me.
All I could see was my little brother. I bit down on my knuckle.
"Get up, Damien!" Raf shouted.
Nothing.
The man kept pounding away. My blood boiled. My stomach twisted. I slammed my fist against the reinforced glass.
"Fucking get up, Damien!" I roared.
Almost as if he'd heard me...Damien exploded. He planted both feet into the man's stomach and launched him backward. For the first time, I got a clear look at Damien.
His face was battered. Blood covered his nose. His left eye was beginning to swell shut. But the look in his eyes...It wasn't pain.
It was fury.
Damien tackled the man before he could recover and slammed the back of his head against the concrete floor.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
And again.
The sound echoed through the arena. Then he kept going. Until the man stopped moving. The referee dropped to his knees. The entire arena fell silent.
Blood slowly pooled beneath the fighter's head.
I already knew.
He was dead.
Damien spat beside the lifeless body before rising to his feet. He threw both fists into the air. The underground arena erupted.
Thousands of voices screamed his name. The entire building shook beneath the cheers.
Damien had won. My little brother had just killed his first man. And judging by the expression on his face...
He had enjoyed every second of it. The five of us rushed downstairs and met him just outside the cage. Damien limped toward us. His shirt was ripped. His face was bruised and covered in blood. I pulled him into a hug. He groaned in pain.
I quickly let him go and pointed a finger straight at him. "Never again." My voice was calm, deadly. He only gave me a crooked grin.
The crowd was still chanting his name. Everyone knew exactly who he was. And after tonight...their respect for him had only grown.
I glanced back at the body still lying motionless inside the cage.